Tall Vanilla Latte
by Stixer111
Summary: Lance finally meets his soulmate on what is possibly the most nerve-wracking day of his life. He can thank Merlin for getting him into this situation later. Inspired by a tumblr post. WELCOME TO STARBUCKS STORY 7


_**A/N- So I put it up to the vote, and Lance/Gwen won by an overwhelming majority. I've actually been meaning to write this since I wrote the Merthur story. Thanks again to Randomostrichchocolates over on AO3 for betaing this, the ending is pretty much hers (and you should totally check out her Merlin pirate AU, it's amazing). You don't have to read the Merthur story for this to make sense, but it's the first one in the series if you'd like to check it out.**_

* * *

 **Tall Vanilla Latte**

"An acting job Merlin, are you serious?" Lancelot looked at his best friend with wide eyes, and the man in question grinned at him.

"I was talking to Arthur yesterday, and apparently there's a role available in his band's next music video. They're looking for someone to play a barista, and he asked me if 'any of my barista friends' were up to it, so naturally, I suggested you. It's nothing big, but you have to start somewhere, right?"

Lance grinned and pulled his friend into a tight hug. "You're the best!"

"Don't I know it!"

Lance sobered for a moment "Isn't this nepotism though?"

Merlin shook his head "Arthur's sister runs the production company that makes the videos, and most of the other actors and crew are friends and family, so..."

"Alright then! I'll have to take off from the coffee shop for this though." at that, Lance looked a little worried. Merlin sighed.

"If she was going to come to the shop on your day off, you wouldn't have her mark, mate. Besides, this is your dream, don't over think this."

"Yeah, yeah. So, I'm playing a barista, huh? Well at least I know I can do that!" Lance joked weakly.

"That's not even the best bit, Starbucks is apparently sponsoring the thing, so not only are you playing a barista you're playing a Starbucks barista."

"So what you're telling me is that for my first ever acting gig, I get to do my actual job, on camera."

"Yup."

Lance gave him a blank look and Merlin quickly explained.

"There's more to it though. The new song is a love song with a more acoustic vibe than their usual stuff," Merlin blushed slightly at that, causing Lance to raise an inquisitive eyebrow. "So Morgana, that's Arthur's sister, has this grand vision of pairing that with this cutesy story of a barista and a customer falling in love... or something." he continued hurriedly, completely ignoring his friend's unspoken question.

"And I'm that barista."

"Yup."

"Okay then."

Lance's dream was to be an actor, the barista job was just to tide him over until he made it big, everyone knew that. Only Merlin really knew that his insistence on being a barista of all things was due to the words neatly printed on his back. He'd spent the better part of a year waiting for " **I'll have a tall vanilla latte and, are those brownies fresh, not that I'm insinuating you'd serve stale food, it's just that I just really like warm brownies, and-** " to enter the shop. He hadn't been lucky so far.

Lance had taken the day off for filming with some trepidation. Despite Merlin's comforting words, he couldn't help but worry. What if the one day he took off was the one day she -and he was absolutely certain it was a she- decided to come into the shop? But this was his first big chance at his dream, and he would be a fool to throw it away, so instead, he took a vacation day and nearly wore through the carpet of his and Merlin's shared living room with his pacing. The other man was his ride to the studio, and he was taking his own cool time getting ready. Lance spun on his heel and continued to pace. Just as he was taking what was possibly his 1000th turn on the same trajectory, Merlin finally came out of the bathroom.

"You alright mate?" he asked giving Lance a concerned once over "You look a little pale."

"Y-yeah" He tried to ignore the slight crack in his voice and swallowed "Just a little nervous. I really don't want to screw this up."

Merlin nodded sagely "Have you eaten anything?"

Lance shook his head "I might vomit."

"Eat something, at least then you'll have something to vomit."

Lance shot his friend a look, which Merlin ignored as he dug through the refrigerator. He pulled out two slices of cold pizza and handed one to Lance.

"Eat up, it's better than nothing." He said, before grabbing his car keys, and holding the door open for Lance.

By the time they pulled up to the studio, a strange sense of calm had settled over Lance, and by the time they parked, he even began to feel a little excited. This was it, his big break, and in a Round Table music video no less!

"You're going to meet Morgana first." said Merlin as they walked into the building. He flashed a smile at the receptionist who grinned back and waved them in. Being Arthur Pendragon's soulmate apparently had some advantages, and never having to show proof of ID in the studio was one of them.

"What's she like?" asked Lance, matching his friend's stride.

"You'll find out."

Okay, that did not sound good. Lance swallowed thickly, mouth suddenly dry. The two came to a stop in front of a door reading M. Pendragon, and Merlin knocked twice and entered before waiting for an answer. Seated at a desk in the center of the room was probably one of the most striking women Lance had ever seen. She was dressed in a navy blue pencil skirt and white blouse, and wearing dark red lipstick. Her sleek black hair was tied in a ponytail.

"''lo Morgana." said Merlin with a grin "This is my friend Lance DuLac, Arthur said to bring him in for the video."

"Merlin, lovely to see you again" she said with a genuine smile "I take it this is your barista friend then?"

She gave Lance a careful once over, and he had to resist the urge to hide behind Merlin, who looked like he was trying not to laugh. She seemed to approve of what she saw, because she smiled at him and gestured for him to take a seat.

" was it?"

Lance nodded, and sat in one of the chairs in front of her desk. Merlin remained standing, and Lance looked questioningly at his friend.

"Well, since you're all settled, I'm going to go find Arthur. Morgana's going to want to fill you in." Said Merlin, looking at the woman for confirmation. She nodded, so he clapped Lance on the shoulder and headed for the door.

"He's supposed to be in hair and make-up, Merlin, can you make sure he gets there?" The man gave her a cheeky salute in response and left the room, abandoning Lance to his fate. He was going to kill him.

Morgana smiled fondly as the door shut swung shut. "Merlin's been a blessing." She said turning to Lance "I was thrilled when I found out about him and Arthur, the more people who can handle my git of a brother, the better. Earlier it was only Leon, Gwaine, and I."

Lance nodded again, unsure what else to do.

"So, getting down to business." said Morgana, sliding a packet of papers towards him "This new song is this really mellow love song about finding your soulmate. Three guesses as to what brought this on." Morgana smirked.

Lance had to grin, that would explain his friend's blushing.

"We're giving the video a sort of romantic comedy feeling. If you take a moment to flip through the script you'll notice that most of your job is just stage directions, with only a couple of lines at the beginning and end of the video." She continued.

Lance flipped quickly through the script. It seemed simple enough, the video would start off with a barista and customer meeting at a Starbucks while the intro to the song played. The two would find out that they were, in fact, soulmates, and the rest of the video would be a series of dates and domestic scenes, with the band following them through it all, and would end with the barista proposing as the music faded out. The idea was very, very appealing. As Morgana had said, he wouldn't have much of a speaking role, though the beginning of the script caught his attention.

"It says here, that the beginning is improvised by the two actors?"

Morgana nodded "We're trying to give it a 'meet cute' feeling, and we figure the best way to do that is to let you both improvise the meeting."

"Okay…" said Lance trying not to let his panic show. Morgana seemed to pick up on it anyway though, because she smiled reassuringly.

"Merlin said you're a barista at Starbucks, right?"

"Yes?"

"Okay, then say what you'd normally say to a customer there."

If he was alone, Lance would have face palmed. Of course that would be the easiest way to not flub this up. Oh god, he was an idiot sometimes.

"So, does this look good to you?" asked Morgana

"Yes m'am" he replied with a smile.

"Great!" she said with a smile of her own "I'll just need you to sign these documents." She handed him a folder and a pen. Ten minutes later, Lance was an official staff member of King's Ward productions.

Hair and make-up was an interesting experience. Freya, the girl in charge of making him 'look the part' as she said, had given him a critical once over, nodded thoughtfully, and all but pushed him into a chair.

"They'll be starting with the intro scene, but after that everything will be shot out of order. Oi, Sefa, what's he going to be wearing?"

The girl in question showed Freya a plain black t-shirt and blue jeans, very similar to what he'd normally wear for work, but obviously of a much finer quality. In addition to that was a dark green visor, which made Freya hum thoughtfully.

"There'll be an apron to match the visor." explained Sefa, and Freya nodded, before telling Lance to get changed first.

Lance found himself attacked with brushes and powder puffs almost immediately after.

"I won't have to do much with your hair- _stop moving your head_ \- thanks to the visor" said Freya as she dabbed something slightly greasy onto his lips. "I'd paint on a soulmark for you, but since I have absolutely no idea what your co-star will say to you, we can add it in post." She didn't seem to thrilled with this idea, and Lance was slightly frustrated by her deliberate phrasing. Apparently when they said improvised, they meant it, as he hadn't even been allowed to meet his fellow actor before shooting. Even the scripts called them CUSTOMER and BARISTA instead of giving the characters names. If she sensed his displeasure, Freya totally ignored it, and continued with her primping and dabbing.

In the end, Lance didn't really think he looked all that different, but Freya seemed pleased, so he figured he looked the part. Sefa handed him the visor and apron and directed him towards the set, before running off to another room with a flower patterned skirt and ruffled yellow blouse, presumably for his co-star. The co-star he'd yet to meet. At least now he felt he could safely assume that CUSTOMER was female. Most probably. He shook his head, careful not to disrupt any of Freya's careful work, and made his way to the set.

Lance stepped on set and gave a low whistle. One thing about King's Ward was that they didn't things by halves. The room he was standing in was an incredibly accurate construction of a typical Starbucks lounge, complete with mood lighting, hissing coffee machines, and a tempting array of snacks on display. He idly wondered if it was actual food, or just plaster and clay. He was willing to bet it was real though, he was beginning to understand that Morgana was not the type of person to skimp on authenticity. Merlin was already standing off to the side, talking to Arthur and the band, who were all dressed in a simple red and white theme. Lance gave a low chuckle, those two had found each other months ago, but it was still difficult getting used to the fact his best friend had a famous soulmate. He made his way towards them.

"They let you stick around then?" he asked from just behind Merlin, exchanging a nod with Arthur, who he'd met several times before.

The other man jumped, before turning around and pushing Lance's shoulder lightly. "Yeah, Morgana doesn't mind so long as I'm good."

"Nice to see you Lance." Said Arthur, who had his arm around Merlin. "You haven't been introduced to the rest of the band have you?"

"No, Merlin's been falling behind on his best friend duties."

"Excuse you! Who recommended you for this gig again?" said Merlin, puffing up with mock offence. The others chuckled.

"Anyway," said Arthur "This is my drummer, Gwaine" he pointed at a grinning man with shaggy hair and a scruffy beard, "Elyan, who's on the keyboard", a dark skinned man nodded at him, "and Elena, our bassist, though she's swapping for an acoustic today" the blond girl in question gave him a cheerful grin. Lance knew all of this already, you kind of had to be living under a rock to not know who the members of Round Table were, but he nodded politely to each member anyway.

"Guys, this is Merlin's best friend, Lancelot."

"Call me Lance." he said with a smile, hoping he didn't look too dorky. He wasn't sure if it worked, but Elena grinned even wider and Gwaine clapped him on the back, so he figured he must have done something right.

Merlin, who had observed the proceedings with a grin, checked his watch and yelped "Well, this is great and all but Morgana is going to be here in five minutes and if you're not in your places by then, she'll have your heads."

The words sparked a flurry of movement from the band, and Lance figured it would be in his best interest to stand behind the gleaming counter that was the focal point of the set, and not a moment too soon, for Morgana came striding into the room just seconds after.

"Okay everyone, we're going to start with the introduction scene, so Arthur, when you lot are ready, we'll start shooting."

Arthur gave his sister a somewhat disgruntled look, as he was trying to help Gwaine with his drum kit, but nodded his agreement nevertheless. He made a few adjustments to the microphone height, gave the band a final once over, and called, "We're ready".

Morgana stepped to the side, and said something that Lance couldn't quite catch into the walkie talkie in her hands. Then the cameras began to roll.

Lance took a few deep, calming breaths, and pretended to be fiddling with the register as the band began to play. He heard the tinkle of a bell, which announced his "customer's" entrance and looked up, catching her eye immediately, and had to stifle a gasp. She was beautiful. Not like Morgana, who looked like she would chew you up and spit you out if she wanted to, but in a softer, gentler way. Her skin was dark and her curly brown hair was left loose and cascading over her shoulders. She wore the outfit he'd seen Sefa carrying, and when he caught her eye, she smiled shyly, and _oh god_ Lance thought he may have actually died and gone to heaven. He pulled himself together enough to give her a smile of his own.

"Welcome to Starbucks, can I take your order?"

She bit her lip, eyes widening just enough to be seen by the camera, and scanned the set, as Round Table continued to play.

"I'll have a tall vanilla latte and, are those brownies fresh, not that I'm insinuating you'd serve stale food, it's just that I just really like warm brownies, and-" she cut herself off and looked up at him through her lashes, blushing slightly.

Lance felt his jaw drop. Out of the corner of his eye, he could see Morgana looking approving, apparently she saw this reaction as a testament to his acting skills. Merlin, who was waiting next to her had a very similar reaction to Lance himself. He gave the girl a shaky smile, and Morgana called for the Cameras to stop rolling, with a yell of "Cut, that's perfect." The girl walked over to Morgana, and Merlin took the opportunity to run towards him.

"Oh my god. Oh. My. God. I swear, I didn't tell anyone anything, she said it on her own."

Lance let out a sound that sounded a bit like a strangled goose, and Merlin completely lost it, clutching his sides as he laughed. Lance felt like he could join in. He'd been a barista for a year, just waiting for this girl to walk in, and he'd found her on set at his first acting gig. Someone up there was laughing their ass off. He was brought out of his stupor by Merlin shaking her shoulder.

"Lance did you hear me?"

He shook his head and his friend rolled his eyes.

"I said her name is Gwen she's Elyan's younger sister and one of Morgana's closest friends. This is her first acting role as well."

Lance continued to stare at him blankly, and Merlin looked like he was resisting the urge to smack him upside the head. "Go talk to her you dolt!"

"What? But- I mean."

Merlin heaved a put upon sigh and shoved him towards Gwen. "Go on, I'm coming with you so you don't chicken out."

And then Lance found himself stumbling towards the girls, his best friend right behind him.

He managed to shake himself out of the shock of meeting his soulmate by the time he reached them, and cleared his throat awkwardly as he approached.

"You're Gwen right? I'm Lance." He said offering his hand, as Merlin moved to whisper something in Morgana's ear. By the way she smirked and looked in between the two actors, it wasn't hard to guess what the secret was.

"Yeah, that's me, hello." Said Gwen with a smile, shaking his hand "you were brilliant by the way, your responses were perfect!"

"Yeah," said Lance sheepishly, rubbing the back of his neck "About that…" he looked towards Merlin, who nodded encouragingly, and took a deep breath. "Did Merlin or Morgana tell you what my soulmark was?"

"No, they didn't tell me anything, not even your name. Why? Did they tell you mine?"

"Not a word. I just had to make sure because well… maybe it'd be better if I just show you?"

"O-okay?"

"My words are on my back, so… just a minute" he tried hard to quell his rising blush, turned his back to her, and pulled off his shirt. He tensed, waiting for some sort of response, and heard a sharp intake of breath as Gwen recognized her own words and handwriting situated neatly between his shoulder blades. He quickly put his shirt back on, and turned to face her. Her eyes were wide and her mouth hung open slightly. Suddenly she turned towards Morgana.

"Morgs, do you have and make up remover on you?"

Morgana dug in her purse and handed Gwen some sort of wipe, and she scrubbed furiously at spot just below her elbow, revealing **Welcome to Starbucks, can I take your order** written in Lance's own script. He gave her an uncertain smile, which she returned.

"Dear lord, I wasn't expecting- I mean, you're not what I expected." She said, before widening her eyes in horror and saying "not that you're not great. You're wonderful… I mean I hardly know you, but I'm sure you're perfectly lovely! It just caught me off guard, especially because you're so handsome… and I'm going to stop talking now before I say something even more embarrassing." She blushed.

"I know what you mean" He said, trying not to be too bolstered by the fact she thought he was handsome, "I mean I've been working in Starbucks for ages hoping to meet my soulmate, and I found you _here_ "

She grinned at him. "It's like…"

"Fate!" he said, completing her sentence with a grin of his own, and she nodded eagerly. He could practically _feel_ Morgana roll her eyes, and Merlin let out a cough that sounded a lot like "no shit", but he ignored them. Today, he was on cloud nine.

"So…" he ventured uncertainly. She looked at him hopefully. "Maybe you'd like to go get lunch?"

Gwen looked apologetic. "I'm sorry, but Morgana and I were going out for lunch today."

Lance swallowed his disappointment and tried to muster a smile.

"That's alright then, I wouldn't want to impose"

"I'm sorry, I'd hate to be a bother."

They said at the same time, and stopped. Gwen was blushing furiously, and Lance could tell he wasn't much better off. He heard the unmistakable sound of Merlin slapping a palm to his forehead, and Morgana let out a groan that sounded like it came from the depths of her soul.

"Gwen, darling, I love you, but I do not want to see you here at lunch time."

The girl stared blankly at her friend, who sighed. "Gwen, you're getting lunch with Lance today. No arguments."

A wide smile crept onto her face, and she turned to Lance. "Well, it looks like I'm free for lunch after all! That is, if the offer is still open?"

"Of course!" he said eagerly "We could leave now, if we're finished." He looked at Morgana for confirmation, who nodded.

"Yeah, alright! Let me just get my things."

"And I should probably get out of costume."

As they left the set, Merlin turned to Morgana. "You know, I thought the whole point of soulmarks was so that we didn't have to do the whole 'do they like me or not' dance."

Morgana just shook her head and sighed.

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 _ **A/N- Aaaaand…. that's another one done! I have a NaLu story with a Gruvia omake planned for the next one, but I'm not sure when I'll be able to get to it. In the meantime, if you could leave a review, I'd appreciate it!**_


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